Letter: Fast food

By Jim Senner, New Bern

Published: Monday, February 4, 2013 at 10:40 AM.

I want to thank you for publishing the letter entitled “Fast food, low wages” in your Jan. 30 issue since nothing could better demonstrate the vacuousness and vapidity of a typical class warfare mentality. It is good for all to see the writer’s dazzling display of arrogance and ignorance as liberals are usually careful to confine these rantings to discussions among themselves. The writer obviously has no understanding of how capitalism works and seems to think that people would be better off sitting at home drawing taxpayer (not government) assistance than holding a paying job. At the risk of boring your more perceptive readers, allow me to explain to him in words that he should not have to look up:

McDonald’s is one of the most successful and best run corporations in the world. They became successful by filling a need at a reasonable price. Franchisees risk a substantial amount of money to open these businesses. Many have had their hard work and entrepreneurship rewarded; others failed and lost their investments. In the process, thousands upon thousands of unskilled youngsters have been hired for entry level positions. The employees get a foot in the door to prove that they can show up on time, learn skills, follow orders and generally build a resume to use to climb the ladder both within the company and at other businesses. As a result, they will get better paying, more responsible positions. Some will stay in these entry level positions because they lack the ambition or skills to advance, but this is not the fault of the employer. If the franchisees treated their employees badly, their product and eventually their profits would suffer. Wages are determined by market forces and the value added by the individual. Low skilled people are readily available and they are paid accordingly. Higher skilled, experienced people can demand and get higher wages. McDonald’s must compete with Burger King down the road and if they pay their employees more than they are worth, they will have to raise their prices and will lose business to Burger King. If they pay too little, the employees will become dissatisfied and go to work at Burger King. This is just basic economics and common sense.

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I want to thank you for publishing the letter entitled “Fast food, low wages” in your Jan. 30 issue since nothing could better demonstrate the vacuousness and vapidity of a typical class warfare mentality. It is good for all to see the writer’s dazzling display of arrogance and ignorance as liberals are usually careful to confine these rantings to discussions among themselves. The writer obviously has no understanding of how capitalism works and seems to think that people would be better off sitting at home drawing taxpayer (not government) assistance than holding a paying job. At the risk of boring your more perceptive readers, allow me to explain to him in words that he should not have to look up:

McDonald’s is one of the most successful and best run corporations in the world. They became successful by filling a need at a reasonable price. Franchisees risk a substantial amount of money to open these businesses. Many have had their hard work and entrepreneurship rewarded; others failed and lost their investments. In the process, thousands upon thousands of unskilled youngsters have been hired for entry level positions. The employees get a foot in the door to prove that they can show up on time, learn skills, follow orders and generally build a resume to use to climb the ladder both within the company and at other businesses. As a result, they will get better paying, more responsible positions. Some will stay in these entry level positions because they lack the ambition or skills to advance, but this is not the fault of the employer. If the franchisees treated their employees badly, their product and eventually their profits would suffer. Wages are determined by market forces and the value added by the individual. Low skilled people are readily available and they are paid accordingly. Higher skilled, experienced people can demand and get higher wages. McDonald’s must compete with Burger King down the road and if they pay their employees more than they are worth, they will have to raise their prices and will lose business to Burger King. If they pay too little, the employees will become dissatisfied and go to work at Burger King. This is just basic economics and common sense.